Vacation's Over but Life is Just Beginning!

So we are back from our vacation in California and have had a blast. We probably over extended ourselves a little and my budget is not going to look pretty this month, but its all worth it because we just got engaged! We (the fiancé and me) will both be doing double time on not spending any extra money this next month so that we can keep our budgets in tact. 

So I will have some new post in the upcoming months about buying a Diamond for the first time, combining finances, marriage budgets, and other post that fall into these categories. We are also looking to purchase a home this year before the first time home buyer tax credit expires.

If anyone has some good advice or suggestions for us please let us know...I have bookmarked a few blog post other bloggers have written on some of their experiences and will post some in the future. Any advice or tips would be great because after all, this is a blog that I started not only to start a conversation with others but to help me out with finances in different stages of my life.

I am also hoping to get up and running a little better with postings, right now I am at about 3-4 post per week but want to see if I can make it at least 5 post a week. Please keep posting comments and please give me all of your feedback!

Vacation here we come!

Today we are headed to California on vacation for a week. Keep checking back as I am trying to get a couple guest writers from people who have inspired me to work hard and to be smart with money. I wrote a couple of post last night so that I can be posting through next week.

In the meantime, here is 10 Reasons to be a Long-term Bull that I got in my last Edward Jones statement. Here is a link to the whole PDF.

1. The economy is bruised, but it’s not broken. Last year, the value of all goods and services produced in the United States (gross domestic product, or GDP) was $14 trillion. Americans earned $10 trillion in disposable income.

2. It’s not the Great Depression. Though many people like to compare today to the Great Depression, there hasn’t been a run on the banks. There are no widespread bread lines or soup kitchens.

3. Debt/deficits won’t crush the economy. Currently, the deficit is expected to be no higher than 15% – which is the highest since 1943. If you’re concerned that higher taxes may be imposed to pay for higher spending, consider investments that could help reduce future tax payments.

4. 50% drops historically have been an opportunity. 

5. The government continues to support the financial system. While support for banks is controversial (and expensive), it’s designed to prevent the widespread panic and bank runs that occurred during the Great Depression. The Fed will continue to do more to support the credit markets and the economy, entering the market directly when necessary to lower mortgage and other rates if necessary.

6. Stock valuation is compelling. By almost any traditional measure of value, stocks have already priced in a lot of the bad economic news.

7. Inflation is under control. The Fed is keeping a close eye on inflation. However, if inflation does increase from its current level near zero to 2% – 3%, that’s probably a better scenario than deflation, or falling prices, which is a much tougher situation from which to recover.

8. When you feel bad, it can be good. High levels of fear and anxiety, which is often seen after the market has done most of its damage.

9. Good performance often follows bad. There have been only three negative 10-year periods since 1926, but the 10 years ended Dec. 31, 2008, were the worst (-1.4% per year). However, historically, good years have often followed bad ones. In each of the 12 10-year periods following those 10-year periods when market returns were less than 6%, the returns have averaged about 13%.

10. You still have long-term goals you are trying to achieve. A $100 investment that has fallen to $60 has lost 40%, but that investment must now rise 66% to break even. This can be difficult to achieve if the money is no longer invested.

Have a great weekend and even better week!

Taxes, Surcharges, and Fees!

So I am headed to California in April and am starting to book hotels, cars, etc...

We are going to be renting a car and driving up the coast of California for a week. I found the vehicle at the price I wanted and made reservations. Once I got to the purchase page I see that my price had sky rocketed. I went and looked at the pricing and saw the breakdown of taxes, surcharges, and fees.

Airport Concession Fee 11.1 % = 28.62

Los Angeles World Airport Fee $10 = 10.00

Travel and Tourism Fee 2.5% = 6.45

State Sales Tax 8.25% = 23.63

Total = $68.70

This is just renting a car...I might have to calculate all the taxes, surcharges, and fees from my trip(Flight, Car, Hotel, etc...) and see the total of all these. I also have a surfboard that I kept out at a friends in California after I moved. I was going to bring it home with me after this trip. Guess what? If you guessed that there is a fee you were correct, a $175.00 fee to bring my surfboard back. A brand new surfboard cost between $400-$700 so its not worth it to me to bring it back. I will be giving it to a friend in the end.

I love traveling and don't mind flying 4-5 hours for a weekend trip if it was cost effective, but all these fee and surcharges along with tax it just not affordable. My question is do you think in the long run that travel oriented business hurt themselves by adding cost on to the regular price of goods and services? I don't know I am guessing someone is charging these companies and they are just passing along the charges to the consumer?

I would love to stay in a hotel every night out there but we just cannot afford it? I am willing to bet that once I add up all the cost associated with my trip I could have stayed a couple extra nights or brought more business to other hotels, restaurants, etc...

I don't mind spending money for experience and fun things, but it cost so much that we can really only afford one big vacation a year and thats still hard. I would love it if I could take more trips more frequently especially surfing. I can tell you one thing though, I will not be flying Delta to any surf destinations. That is a shame because A) Delta is my airline of choice (Amex and frequent flyer) and b) surfers travel to destinations all over the world. If I was a business I would cater to customers like surfers who spend a lot of their hard earned money every year to travel.

Why in anyones right mind would they want to turn those types of customers away? I know every company has to tax but fees and surcharges can only be hurting business in the long run, no? Let me know what you think?